1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to oral hygiene products, and in particular, to reusable toothbrush storage caps.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
It has been known for many years that the two most essential elements of good dental hygiene are the daily brushing and flossing of one's teeth. In most households, toothbrushes are kept in some form of holder with openings dimensioned and arranged to maintain each toothbrush in an upright orientation so that they may be quickly and conveniently retrieved when needed. The holder may be a free standing object designed to be supported by an underlying vanity or cabinet surface, or it may be attached to a vertical surface such as a wall. In either case, when stored in this manner the bristles of a toothbrush are exposed to the air so as to be completely unprotected from airborne contamination by microscopic organisms. Given the location--precisely where one would expect to find a large concentration of germs, such a means of storage would seem ill advised to say the least.
While the price of convenient "out-in-the-open" accessibility to one's toothbrush may be an increased risk of infection from airborne bacteria, it may be also said that it is a lack of such accessibility which is the biggest impediment to the equally important step of flossing. That is, unlike the toothbrush, the roll of dental floss--if present at all--is typically relegated to an obscure shelf of the bathroom medicine cabinet. As a result, the flossing step is frequently overlooked altogether despite its well documented role in the prevention of periodontal disease.
Various approaches have been proposed in efforts to protect the bristles of a toothbrush, particularly while traveling. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,813 (Lorenzana), U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,039 (Picard), U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,144 (Andrews), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,556 (Wilkinson). The toothbrush storage caps disclosed in the aforementioned patents are designed to fit over the head of the toothbrush, and protect the toothbrush bristles from dirt, grime and damage. The prior art includes reusable toothbrush storage caps, as well as disposable toothbrush covers. Reusable toothbrush storage caps are typically made from molded plastic (e.g., molded polypropylene. While caps of the aforementioned type may adequately protect the bristles of a toothbrush from contamination by airborne bacteria, they do not address the need to facilitate flossing.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a need continues to exist for a cover assembly which not only facilitates the continued accessibility of the toothbrush by protecting the bristles from open air exposure, but which also extends the beneficial aspect of accessibility to the dental floss to thereby increase the likelihood that the user will perform both of the essential daily steps of dental hygiene.